What Are Chocolate chunks and How Can I Use Them?
Chocolate chunks rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 7 recipes to cook with them.
Key Points
- Chocolate chunks are bigger, less stabilized than chips, so they melt into pools.
- Use them in thick cookies and muffins where you want streaks of soft chocolate.
- Chop a chocolate bar into half-inch pieces to make your own.
- Chips swap in for a tidier look; chopped bar is the closest match.
- Store cool, dry, and sealed near 65°F (18°C); dark keeps up to two years.
What are chocolate chunks?
Chocolate chunks are exactly what they sound like: chunks of chocolate, bigger and more irregular than chips, made to melt into generous pools inside a cookie or muffin. They are sold in bags like chips, but the shape and the recipe behind them set them apart.
The key difference from chips is the stabilizer. Chips are formulated to hold their teardrop shape in the oven, so they stay mostly intact. Chunks have less of that stabilizer, so they soften and spread into real melty pockets when they bake.
That trade is the whole point. Chunks give you streaks and puddles of chocolate; chips give you neat, separate dots. Neither is better, they just behave differently.
How to Use Them
Use chunks where you want melt: thick bakery-style cookies and muffins built to show off pools of soft chocolate. They run through a Chocolate Chunk Cranberry & Walnut Cookie and a batch of Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Fold them in at the very end, after the flour. Stir just enough to spread them so you do not toughen the crumb. Because they are bigger, a little goes a long way; the same cup of chunks reads as more chocolate than a cup of chips.
You can make your own by chopping a chocolate bar into rough half-inch pieces. Hand-chopped chunks melt even more freely than bagged ones, since they have no chip stabilizer at all.
Substitutes and Storage
Chocolate chips swap in directly when you do not mind smaller, more defined bits instead of big melty pools. The cookie tastes the same; it just looks tidier.
Chopped bar is the closest match, and arguably better, since it melts cleanly. Chunks and chopped bar are nearly interchangeable.
Store chunks like any chocolate: cool and dry in a sealed bag around 65°F (18°C), away from strong smells, and out of the fridge where damp air dulls them with bloom.
That pale film is harmless, not mold. Dark chunks keep up to two years, while any with milk solids are best within a year.
Quick facts
Where to find chocolate chunks: Chocolate chunks are usually found in the asian section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
- In Chinese
- 巧克力块
- British (UK) term
- Chocolate chunks
- en français
- morceaux de chocolat
- en español
- trozos de chocolate
Recipes using chocolate chunks
There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Peanut butter and chocolate chunk cookies packed with oats and pecans. Chilling the dough keeps these bakery-size cookies thick and chewy with crisp, browned edges.
Confetti Chocolate Chip Cookies
Triple chocolate chip cookies with semi-sweet chunks, white chocolate pieces, and milk chocolate chips plus crunchy walnuts. Chewy brown sugar cookies loaded with variety in every bite.
Chocolate Chunky Mighty Muffins
Chocolate chunky muffins loaded with rolled oats, bran flakes, chocolate chunks, and chopped nuts. A hearty, fiber-rich muffin with deep brown sugar flavor and chewy texture. Built from pantry staples with powdered buttermilk for tender crumb.
Hershey's Blondies
This rich, chocolate snack is a tasty treat that everyone will enjoy. Just make sure to make enough!
Oreo Balls
Made some changes to my version of oreo balls. I like them better with real chocolate not that nasty bark ew. You can change this up by using Nutter butter cookies with a bit of peanut butter along with the cream cheese to make a moist enough center to roll. Or use Mint oreos for a kick
Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake
Chocolate Kahlua cheesecake layers a chocolate-wafer crust, a triple-chocolate filling spiked with coffee liqueur, and a glossy Kahlua ganache top. Made in a springform pan and chilled until knife-sharp.
